Taylor expects UEFA Cup to flourish

Clarion call
With the draw for the first round of the 2008/09 UEFA Cup taking place in Monaco on Friday, UEFA General Secretary David Taylor hoped respect would be given to a tournament that continues to grab the headlines and excite football fans alongside its illustrious sister competition, the UEFA Champions League. "The UEFA Cup has a particular attraction," he told uefa.com. "Often you see more open attractive flowing football – and you definitely see different teams from different countries. For fans of the clubs who participate, it is European competition – and look at the numbers who are interested. From my country [Scotland], we had 150,000 Rangers fans who went to the UEFA Cup final in Manchester in May, so that is the level of interest there is. No one should say that it is a second-rate or second-tier competition."

Format changes
Work at commercial level is helping to boost the UEFA Cup's appeal. "I think the work being done is necessary, it is important and I think already that it is starting to bear some fruit," said Mr Taylor. "But the real benefits will come with [changes to the] format of the competition. We will be abolishing the UEFA Intertoto Cup, which has now completed its last-ever phase, and we will have a new format with a group stage very much mirroring the Champions League in the seasons to come."

New-look competition
From 2009, the first round becomes part of the qualifying phase, and the group phase will consist of 48 teams, split into 12 groups of four. The top two in each group will qualify for the knockout phase and will be joined by the eight teams that finish the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in third place in their sections. The knockout phase, with 32 teams and four rounds, will lead to the final, played in a single match at a neutral venue. "We will also be having a centralised marketing concept for the group stage of the UEFA Cup, which should provide a stronger presence in the market and more revenue, which we all feel is very important," said Mr Taylor. "We will be working to enhance the competition's appeal over the coming years."